Candida the Elder () (died ) was a legendary early Christian

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

and resident of

Naples, Italy Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, who is

venerated Veneration (; ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Veneration of saints is practiced, ...

as a saint in the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

and Roman Catholic Church, with a

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

on 4 September. She is one of the patron saints of Naples.

Biography

According to her legend, Candida was an elderly woman who hospitably welcomed

Peter the Apostle Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the early Christian Church. He appears repe ...

, when he was passing through

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

on his way to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. The woman was cured of an illness by Peter and converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

. She was baptized by Peter and later converted Aspren, the first

bishop of Naples The Archdiocese of Naples () is a Latin Catholic archdiocese in southern Italy, the see being in Naples. A Christian community was founded there in the 1st century AD and the diocese of Naples was raised to the level of an Archdiocese in the 10 ...

, to

Candida Xu Candida Xu or Candida Su ( zh, t=許徐甘弟大, w=Hsü3-Hsü2 Kan1-ti4-ta4, p=Xǔ-Xú Gāndìdà; ; September 4, 1607 – July 24, 1680), was a Chinese Catholic who lived in late Ming and early Qing China. She has been called "arguably the mos ...

, an influential Chinese woman from the 17th century, was named after her

Existence

Basil Watkins says she probably never existed. Her name has been deleted from the revised Roman Martyrology.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Candida The Elder 70s deaths 1st-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown 1st-century Christian female saints People from Naples 1st-century Roman women 1st-century Romans Christianity in Naples Ancient Romans from unknown gentes